Finger held tape cutter



Oct. 23, 1951 H. A. COLDIRON FINGER HELD TAPE-CUTTER Filed Jfine 1, 1949[n V E 17 fur Haro/JA. UOZQZ'WO/Z Patented Oct. 23, 1951 2,572,245 7FINGER HELD TAPE CUTTER Harold A. Coldiron, Chicago, 111., assignor toThe Scholl Mfg. 00., Inc.

tion of New York Chicago, 111., a corpora- Application June 1, 1949,Serial No. 96,507

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in a finger held tape cutter, andmore particularly to a cutting device which may easily be carried on thefinger or thumb of a user, and successfully utilized for the severanceof sections of tape of .desired length from a roll of adhesive tape orthe like, although the device may have other uses and purposes as willbe apparent to one skilled in the art.

The instant application is a continuous-inpart of my copendingapplication entitled Tape Cutter, filed April 16, 1949, Serial No.87,919. Briefly the main dilference between the two applications residesin the fact that the copending application discloses a tape cutter whichmay readily and easily be attached to a roll of tape, while the tapecutter set forth herein is one that attaches directly to the finger orthumb of the user.

As pointed out in my aforesaid copending application, tape cuttingdevices of the past have resulted in dilficulty in the quick and easyseverance of a section of tape from a roll, and that difiiculty wasincreased where the body of the tape comprised a fabric rather thanpaper. Also, with devices such as those heretofore known difficulty wasexperienced, and added care in most instances and extra operations werenecessary, in order to sever tape carrying a pressure sensitiveadhesive, in order to avoid the free tape end attached to the roll fromclosely adhering to the roll and rendering it extremely difilcult topull off the next section of tape, and also in keeping the tap-e frombuckling or folding so that the adhesive would engage upon itself.Obviously, appliances of the extraneous character, which would have tobe picked up, operated, and then laid down to permit the next section oftape to be withdrawn from the roll, were objectionable in the delay andcare required to obtain a free tape section. Likewise, cutting deviceswhich physically carried the roll of tape were objectionably expensive,required added care in use, and necessitated re-loading at intervalswhen a roll of tape expired.

With these thoughts in mind, it is an important object of the instantinvention to provide a simplified form of tape cutter which may readilyand easily be slipped over the end of a finger or thumb and so carriedby the user during a long course of separate tape severing operations.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple form oftape cutting device readily and easily carried on the finger or thumb ofa user, and which device with but little pres- (Cl. in ers) 2 sure fromthe operator will readily sever either thin and fragile paper tape, orextremely tough fabric tape.

Also an object of the invention is the provision of a simple form oftape cutting device carried upon a digit of the users hand and soconstructed that when the roll of tape is grasped by the same handcarrying the device, the device may readily be positioned against theouter layer of the roll at the proper angle for severing a section oftape from the roll, and leaving the free end of tape still carried bythe roll spaced from the layer of tape therebeneath in a position to bereadily grasped for the next operation.

Still a further object'of this invention resides in the provision of a.simple form of tape cutter which may readily becarried upon a digit ofthe users hand, and which may be held in operative position while thedesired length of tape is withdrawn from the roll.

It is also a feature of this invention to provide a simple form of tapecutter that may readily be carried on a digit of the users hand, andwhich device may be adjusted so as to more naturally and comfortably fitthe selected digit of an individual user.

It is also a further feature of the invention to provide a simple formof tape cutting device, readily carried upon the hand of the user, whichis highly durable, embodies no movable parts, and which is extremelylight in weight.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantagesof the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will becomeapparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a top plan view of a tapecutter embodying principles of the instant invention showing the same inoperative association with a roll of tape from which sections are to beremoved;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the structure of Fig. 1,illustratingthe cutting device in section, and showing the hand of theuser in dotted lines-to illustrate the proper operation of the device;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view takensubstantially as indicated by the line IIIIII of Fig. 2, looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a somewhat differentform of device embodying principles of the instant invention, indicatingin dotted lines the association of the device with the hand of a user;and

Figure is a fragmentary sectional view of the structure of Fig. 4 takensubstantially as indicated by the line V-V of Fig. 4.

As shown on the drawings:

Both illustrated embodiments of the instant invention are shownassociated with a roll I of tape of which the free end of the top layerof the roll is indicated at 2. For illustrative purposes it may beassumed that the roll I comprises pressure sensitive adhesive tapehaving a fabric body. It will be understood, however, that the instantinvention is not only usable with pressure sensitive adhesive tape, suchas masking tape, binding tape, surgical tape, sealing tape, and thelike, but the invention is equally adaptable and operates highlysatisfactory with other forms of adhesive tape as well as with tape orribbon carrying no adhesive whatever.

That illustrated embodiment of the invention seen in Figs. 1 to 3inclusive includes a socketlike body portion, 'generally indicated bynumeral '3, which may be molded from a thermoplastic or thermosettingplastic material, or which may be made from any other suitable material,plastic being highly satisfactory because of its lightness in weight.The body 3 comprises a forwardly and downwardly sloping wall 4, a pairof side walls 55 of substantially triangular configuration, and a baseor platform 6. At the forward end of the body portion an opening 1 isprovided through which the end of a thumb or finger of the user mayextend, this opening providing adequate ventilation for the end of thedigit inserted in the socket body. In its upper surface the platform 6may be recessed as indicated at B to provide better holding action whenthe device roll 1 and -prevent the device from slipping lat- 'erally offthe roll when in use. As noted more particularly Fig. 2, it will be seenthat at the rear edge of the device there is transversely extendingdepending leg 9 which is shorter than the depending portions of thesidewalls 55, to rest upon the circumferential face of the tape roll. Nearthe forward edge of the device, :there is a similar transverse leg l0,which is of less depth than the leg 9, and which also rests upon thecircumferential face of the tape roll. These two legs 9 and Ill maintainthe device at the proper angle for most facile cutting when the deviceis operatively associated with the tape roll.

Immediately forward seated against the shorter leg '10 is a cuttingblade I I embedded in the side walls or otherwise secured to the base ofthe platform 6, so that "the forward or cutting edge thereof projectsbeyond the body of the device as clearly seen in Figs. --1 and 2.Preferably, the cutting edge of a--serrated or saw tooth character asindicatedat l2, to better facilitate severance of fabric tapes. -'Atortuous edge of this kind also aids in keeping the free tape endattached 'to "the rom from dro ping into tight opening in the core ofthe roll and a firm grip is had upon the roll with the cutting devicepressed solidly into position on the circumferential face of the roll.It is a simple expedient to maintain the device in this position, graspthe free tape end with the other hand, and withdraw tape from the rollto the desired extent. Then, a drawing of the tape against the edge ofthe knife ll results in a quick and neat severance of the tape section.From the showing in the drawing it will be noted that the free tape endstill attached to the roll will be elevated from the next layer of tapeon the roll, and may readily be grasped by the hand of the user after aslight rearward movement of the cutting device. The cutting device maybe worn for an indefinite length of time on the finger or thumb of theuser and is entirely comfortable, especially due to its lightness inWeight and the adequate flow of ai through the device around the end ofthe users digit. 7 p H That form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 4and 5 is similarly constructed to the previously described modificationo'f theinvention in the lower portion thereof. This forth of theinvention includes a platform 15 having a pair of depending side walls[6 for engagement with the side faces of the tape roll. A rear leg I land a-forward transverse leg it properly position the device inassociation with the circumferential face of the tape roll in the samemanner "as the legs '9 and 10 above described. The forwardl projectingknife II is of the same character as above described.

In this second embodiment of the invention, however, the finger socketelement comprises a bracket 19 extending upwardly and outwardly at anangle to the rear portion of the base i5. Preferably integral with thisbracket is a forwardly and downwardly inclined open loop 20 having 'afree end 21 projecting at an angle to the curvate body portion of theloop. Through this free end and through the adjacent part of the bracketI9 a bolt or equivalent tightening element 22 extends. It will heobvious that this bolt may be tightened or loosened to contractorenlarge the loop 2| so that it may readily be adjusted to fit the fingeror thumb of a particular user. In operation, it is a simple expedient toadjust the bolt 22 so that the loop '26 is of a comfortable fit, insortthe end of the finger or thumb through this loop as indicated in dottedlines in Fig. "4, 'and utilize the device for severing sections of tapein the manner above outlined with the previously described embodiment.

It will be especially noted that in either form, the invention iseconomical, highly durable, and simple to manipulate.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing fromthe'pri'nciples of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purposeto limit the patent granted hereonbth'erwise than necessitated by thescope of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a tape cutting'device,a'platform having digit embracing meansthereon, side flanges depending from said platform, front and rear legsdepending from said platform transverse to said "side flanges, and aknife embedded in said side flanges substantially parallel to andbeneath said platform and seated against one of said legs, said knifeextending forwardly of said platform and digit, whereby placing ofsaid'device upon the tape roll with the'fianges and legs thereof inengagement with the side and circumferential faces respectively of saidroll will position the knife for severing Number the tape in selectivelengths. 197,357 HAROLD A. COLDIRON. 421,665 REFERENCES CITED 0 $2235The following references are of record in the 2,423,004

file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Jameson Dec. 4, 1877 Buchman Feb. 18,1890 Mandley Feb. 13, 1923 Castain Feb. 13, 1934 Butler June 24, 1947

